Cooking 101

How to make a beurre blanc (French butter sauce)

Classic French food never goes out of style. Take, for example, beurre blanc. This sauce is so versatile, adding a buttery flavor to just about any dish, from fish to vegetables. A few ingredients, a little time and voila, this sauce is ready. The following are step-by-step instructions for making this French sauce:

2. Continue boiling until the sauce is reduced by half. The larger the saucepan, the quicker the ingredients will reduce.

3.Tipping the pan makes it easier to tell when the sauce is properly reduced.

4. While reducing the sauce, cut 1 1/4 cups or 12 ounces of chilled butter into small squares. Once the sauce is reduced, add half the butter squares and beat with a metal whisk until the mixture forms a creamy paste.

5. Reduce heat to low and continue beating in one piece of butter at a time, adding a new piece just as soon as the previous piece is nearly incorporated.

6. The sauce should now be about 1 1/4 cups and have the consistency of light hollandaise. Remove from heat and strain.